The island itself is absolutely amazing. You can see amazing sea life (lots of turtles, rays, and sharks) just by standing on the shore during high tide and looking out at the water. But the "resort" is better described as a 1-star cruise ship stuck in middle of an island.
The most important thing for you to know is this:
Do not stay here unless you're willing to take the risk of getting stuck here for several days and being charged extra. During my stay, they cancelled their standard ferry three times, and only once ordered a replacement (a smaller ferry that made many of the passengers vomit during the ride over). If they cancel without a replacement, they will shift the burden of their decision onto you by making you: (1) pay to stay on the island longer (possibly in a less desirable room) with a mere 30% price reduction or (2) pay AU$500 per person to take a seat on a helicopter to get back to Gladstone (if space is available).
Setting that aside, the beds are extraordinarily uncomfortable, the rooms are in desperate need of maintenance and updating, most of the island smells like bird shit (and you will definitely get pooped on by birds during your stay), and the rooms are very dingy. There was a hole in the ceiling in my room and lots of paint chips on the walls. My room came with a full kitchen, but no plates. We had two bedrooms that could accommodate four people, but only two towel rods.
They will tell you the resort is "keyless," which most people would assume means that the rooms have a digital or card lock system, but which actually means that you cannot lock your doors at all when you leave your room, and anyone on the island can enter them at anytime when you're not there. You can lock the doors when you are in the rooms, but the doors are quite flimsy.
There appears to be black mold growing on the ceiling in the restaurant in several areas, as well as something that has splattered on the ceiling.
Staff are friendly though often in a way that seems forced. Of the foreign workers, a good number have only a very basic grasp of English, and so communicating with them is sometimes difficult. For example, our restaurant orders were often wrong in one way or another when our order was taken by a staff member for whom English was a second language.
Many staff lack basic knowledge about the resort. For example, we received a flyer that indicated that if we needed distilled water, I could get it at the bar, but when I went to the bar, the people working there had no idea what I was asking for. Eventually, I was referred to the the resort nurse, who incorrectly told me that the tap water in the resort is pure water that is desalinated from the ocean, and that I could use that. But, I found that the tap water had a strong chlorine smell, and the maintenance man at the resort later confirmed that they do add chlorine, that the tap water is definitely not pure as the nurse had claimed. If you need distilled water, BTW, you want to ask for maintenance Matt, as he knows what it is and where to find it (though in AU it will be called demineralized water).
Similarly, the resort will tell you that they have paid wifi access only in the bar, reception, and restaurant, but that is also not true. Most of the northwest side of the Island will get it, including all of the higher priced rooms between reception and the jetty (at least outside and near the windows).
They also falsely claim that the AU$25.00 per day gives you "unlimited internet access," but the truth is that you are limited to 5 Mbps down and 2.5 Mbps up with a larger burst during the first second or two. There's also a total per day data cap, but I can't remember what it is. You're also limited to two devices, though that limitation is actually disclosed.
Update: I see that HIR responded to my review here, and invited me to visit again. To that, I respond: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,...
Read more
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
